


Counting to Ten

by irish_trash_cash



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Amputation, Angst, Assassination, Augmented Character, Character tags will be updated as characters are introduced, Dismemberment, Explosions, Graphic Depictions of Illness, Graphic depictions of violence - Freeform, I don't plan on having an OC romance anywhere during the duration, Implied Relationships, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Torture, Light Stockholm Syndrome, Loss of Limbs, Multi, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, This is just long and emotional and violent okay, Torture, but I'm open to suggestions, paraplegic character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-09
Updated: 2018-02-09
Packaged: 2019-03-16 00:24:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13624632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/irish_trash_cash/pseuds/irish_trash_cash
Summary: Critically injured in a terror attack, Lieutenant Callen Irving's life takes an unwanted turn when she finds herself in a hospital after not only losing her legs, but most of her squadron. It is then that she receives the offer of a lifetime- live out the rest of her life as a disabled veteran or accept an offer to join Overwatch, unlock what she's capable of, and become a hero in the process.A rewrite of my old story under the same name.





	Counting to Ten

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Counting to Ten](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7526545) by [irish_trash_cash](https://archiveofourown.org/users/irish_trash_cash/pseuds/irish_trash_cash). 



> Hey, I'm back! As usual, I might be slow to update since I've been busy with my job and college classes, but I've finally decided to drop the original story and rewrite it from the ground up. Remember my writing can be confusing at times, but I do write accents and dialects in when needed, but I'm confident this rewrite will be much better than the original. I'll try to stick to the canon as best I can, but it's shoddy enough as is, so there will be some divergence where I deem fit.
> 
> Do be sure to let me know what you think about this rewrite, and remember that kudos and bookmarks are encouraged and much appreciated!

In a moment between keeping her sanity or allowing herself to just fall apart, Callen decided to count to ten.

 **_One._ ** She’s on her way to a briefing when it happens, making her way down the hall with heavy steps, though not as heavy as the piece of debris that comes flying toward her a moment later. **_Two._ ** She falls to the ground as it makes a cracking impact with her lower back, and a great roar reaches her ears. **_Three._ ** Her breath is shaky as she tries to get up but her arms won’t work; won’t function in a way to allow herself to push up and roll onto her back. **_Four._ ** Was the room spinning? Falling? She was losing the battle with her own thoughts and thinks she’s forgotten what it’s like to feel happy and is afraid she might never feel it again. **_Five._ ** She takes a deep breath and tells herself everything will be fine. **_Six._ ** A blurry figure appears to her right and she tries to get up, letting out a scream as an unknown pain seared through her spine. **_Seven._ ** The figure moves out of view and suddenly she feels weightless. But as she takes more hurried deep breaths, the pressure in her chest builds, threatening to release. **_Eight._ ** She’s being dragged across the floor, screaming still, because it feels like someone’s tearing the skin from her body with a vegetable peeler. **_Nine._ ** She hears muffled voices as the figure comes into view again, turning her over onto her back and looping something under her arms, dragging her further down the hall. As she struggles to breathe, her thoughts start to loosen their hold on her captive brain. **_Ten…_ **

She takes deep, gasping breaths, in and out. Slowly regaining feeling in her limbs as the boiling, peeling sensation continues to spread across her skin- it’s absolutely excruciating. She tries to focus on what’s going on around her; the marble floor, usually cool and glossy, is now searing hot and scattered with ashes and bits of glass. She moves to push herself up but something stops her, shoving her back to the ground as she lets out a howl of pain. That’s when she starts to panic, willing her thoughts to pull her back to reality but she can’t hear and can hardly see what’s going on around her. As her head makes an impact with the floor, she realizes she can't feel anything below her neck, and everything was growing distant, like she was in a tunnel, slowly fading until she could hear nothing. The Earth was quieter, time felt slower, and she hadn’t realized she’d stopped breathing until she began choking on the smoke that flooded her lungs, burning her nose and throat.

When Callen wakes up, she’s hesitant to open her eyes or give any indication that she was no longer asleep. The last thing she remembered was the explosion. The building burning around her and then- she cursed silently to herself. She didn’t know where she was now and tried to hear if anyone was nearby but the room was quiet, save the occasional crinkle of what seemed like... paper maybe? A cold hand grabbed her wrist and lifted her arm into the air, fumbling with something around her forearm before gently setting it down. Callen drew in a slow, deep breath in an attempt to analyze her surroundings while still acting as if she were asleep. _‘Rubber, alcohol, linen…’_ she trailed off. _‘Hospital or brothel- which one’s most likely, Callen...’_ she wondered, mulling over the possibilities if she were to open her eyes.

The light sound of metal sliding across metal breaks the silence, and a voice echoes out across the room.

“How’s she doin’ Niels?” Callen resists the urge to turn her head in the direction of the inquiry, and instead focuses on just the voice, thankful that her hearing augments were still intact. It was female, heavily accented and slightly nasally, sounding as if the speaker was either sick or had been crying recently.

“Th’ lass is doin’ jus fine.” Another voice replies. Male this time, and seemingly closer to Callen than the woman was. “She’s been aut ‘af surgery fer’ a few hours nau, but Christ knows when she might wake up- wha’ with aul tha drugs they had tae pump intae ‘er. It’s nae easy for yer’ body tae communicate with augments like tha’.” The man adds. His voice is also accented, but it’s different than the woman’s- lighter- more melodic- and with less emphasis on the consonants, more focus on the lilting vowels. The room drifts back into silence before long, and eventually, someone approaches the bedside and places an almost startlingly warm hand over hers.

“Come aun, dumplin’, tell me what ye need tae wake up.” The woman asks softly, and with that subtle term of endearment Callen’s memories of her voice suddenly come flooding back.

“Basket ‘af chips an’ a pint sounds great 'bout nau.” Callen croaks, not yet opening her eyes, but allowing a smile to grace her features as the woman lets out a gasp and a choked sob. Callen’s eyes finally open when the woman throws herself forward, pulling her into a crushing hug. The bright lights overhead blind her for a second, but after a moment Callen’s eyes adjust, and she's soon trying to kindly push the woman away and off of her.

“Oh, Ah’m sorry, did Ah hurt ye?” She asks, letting Callen go and giving her a concerned gaze, looking her up and down. Callen shakes her head in reply, silently watching the woman’s movements as she hurries across the room, poking her head out into the hall and calling out for a nurse to bring food. The woman, Mararid, had been Callen’s caretaker growing up. She had long, dark hair, now slightly greyed with age, and a slender face, accentuated by her small nose and hazel eyes. Mararid was more of a mother to Callen than the woman who’d actually birthed her, and Callen was more than happy to wake up to her shining face.

The man sitting across the room was Neils, her bodyguard. Despite Callen having been enlisted for almost ten years now, it was still Neils’ duty to be by her side when she was back home. This was the first time Callen had seen him in years though- being stuck to assist the war effort in the continental front- and she frowned as she looked him over. Niels’ normally blonde hair was now peppered with white, matching his scratchy beard- a combination that made him look slightly haggard yet ruggedly attractive.

Before any more words could be exchanged, a nurse entered the room with a covered tray, pulling up a hovering table and unveiling the lid to reveal a plastic cup with juice, and three paper cups of water.

“I know you're excited to be up but getting fluids in your system is most important,” the nurse ushered, swiftly stabbing the foil top of the juice cup with a straw and handing it to Mararid, gesturing for her to hold it while Callen drank. Callen silently obliged, running a hand through her auburn hair and tying it up as Mararid held the straw to her mouth, gulping down the amber liquid before the nurse had even finished changing her IV.

“This is just a caffeine drip.” She explained. “It will keep you functional while the fluids flush all the drugs from your system and keep you from getting a spinal headache.” She added, and Callen shuddered as the cold liquid seeped into her wrist, sending a chill up her spine.

That's when Callen knew something wasn’t right- the unfamiliar, artificial clicks she heard as she arched through the chill. Tiny, machine-like pops ringing out as she cracked her stiff back and stretched her muscles in an effort to get comfortable. But she was far from comfortable now, and as the IV continued to drip into her vein, the reality of the situation kicked in. A bead of sweat trickled down Callen’s temple as the nurse continued her musings and Mararid stuck the straw back into Callen’s mouth- this time in one of the cups of water. Neils silently watched from the corner as Callen fought off the oncoming panic attack, his dark eyes studying her as if he knew exactly what was happening, and was gauging her reaction.

If he did know what was going on, Callen swore she’d tear him a new one when she was discharged from the hospital.

What set her off was the blood. Sure she had just woken up, and everything was now happening so fast, but the _blood_ \- as soon as the nurse pricked her finger Callen’s thought process came to a halt, realizing the nurse had used an extension of herself to do so. Looking over to her left, she studied the nurse as a feeling of horror seeped into her body. The nurse was an Omnic.

In an instant, Callen was right back there in the burning building, all ash and smoke, glass and blood, the bodies of her fellow soldiers lying on the ground around her. The scene before her shifted then, slowly, subtly, like a drop of ink dispersing through a bucket of water. Now she was in a field, the barren landscape stretching for miles, littered with destroyed B73 Bastions and OR14 units. The shadow of the military stronghold in Zagreb burned in the distance as an air transport crashed loudly behind her. Callen cried out in anger and despair but no sound could be heard besides the rippling flames and the pained screams of the men trapped inside.

Callen felt like only a heartbeat had passed, but when she came to she was on the floor, being held down by two security guards in the hallway of the hospital. Seeing their metallic faces, feeling their cold, robotic hands on her skin, having all these horrid memories in her head- Callen lost it.

She went for the guard on the left first. It was struggling to hold down and put pressure on the crook of her wrist where she’d pulled the IV tube out in haste, the end of it dangling out and dripping slowly with her blood.

Callen pushed her arm out of his grasp, kicking up her leg and using the momentum to pull herself into a crouched position, whacking it to the side and then moving to shove off the one on her right. The left one had recovered by then and was now moving to incapacitate her but Callen sidestepped, crouching into a swooping motion under its arms and wrapping her arms around its torso. She shoved it back into the wall, leaving a hole in the structure as the other came up behind and tried to pull her off. Callen relaxed and let it pull her away, tearing out the power core of the one in the wall. It powered down noisily as she spun around and snapped the core over the head of the other, cracking its optic lenses and sending it into an emergency shutdown.

Not knowing where in the building she was or what she should do next, Callen ran, her footsteps pounding loudly on the tile floor, and it was only when she glanced over her shoulder that she realized she was leaving footprints in her wake- shallow cracked indents everywhere that her bounding steps had landed. But her attention wasn't drawn to just that.

“It’s alright, soldier. There’s nothing to be afraid of.” a woman reassured, splaying her hands out before her in a gesture of peace.

Standing down the hall from her was an unfamiliar woman- tall, blonde haired, thick accent- German maybe- she wore a blue pencil skirt dress under a white lab coat and held a biotic staff in her left hand. Callen furrowed her eyebrows, taking a hesitant step back as the woman approached.

“Wha’s goin’ aun? Wha’ happened tae me?” Callen demanded, keeping her defensive stance as the woman regarded the destroyed, Omnic guards before stepping over them.

“Don’t think about that, focus on now. You’re alright, you’re in a hospital. No one’s going to hurt you.”

“They were bots- why are there damn bots?” Callen demanded, her entire body beginning to grow hot- a thin sheen of sweat forming on her skin.

“You’re not in the Isles- this is a recovery unit in Switzerland, but you need to calm down, Callen. It’s not good for the condition you are in _._ ” The woman continued to explain, and as much as Callen wanted not to trust her, she couldn’t help but feel calmed by the woman's presence.

“Condition, wha’s wrong with me- wha’ _happened_?” It was when the woman quickly glanced from Callen’s face to the floor, then back, that everything clicked into place.

Callen’s eyes drifted toward the ground, examining the cracked tile where she’d stepped as she’d ran, following their path until her head hung down. She tried to focus her vision on what she saw upon doing so, but it was too much. In an instant, Callen imploded on herself, quietly shutting down, her thought process cold and distant from everything else happening around her- just like her legs. The lower half of her legs were now cold metal and wires, connecting at the knee with rounded joints with wires twisting around her calves and connecting again to joints at her ankles. After a moment the shutdown wore off and Callen immediately spiraled into a state of panic because her legs were _gone_.

She was hallucinating. Overthinking. She had to be. This didn’t happen to soldiers unless they were worth saving, right? Was she really worth saving? Taking a deep breath, Callen reached down and allowed her fingers to grace the smooth metal, breathing heavy, painful breaths as she tangled her fingers in the wires, watching the near-translucent fluid flow through them for a moment as the woman let out a command and began walking hurriedly towards her. Without thinking, Callen grabbed on tightly to the wires at her knees, and pulled the wires out, not stopping even as her vision grew dark and blood seeped through the pores of her thighs.

She didn’t want to be saved like _this_.

**Author's Note:**

> Now that this first chapter is being posted, I figured I'd take this time to explain what I've changed about this that makes it so different from the original. My main reason for deciding to do this is because of all the new information and lore we've been given by Blizzard. Even though I'm known for slight canon divergence in my stories, it was bothering me that I'd got so many things wrong in my original story, so I desperately wanted to change it. Aside from that, Callen's backstory was flawed, I'll admit that, honestly because I hated it. Many of the original readers would likely have recognized this right away, but I took away her legs. After doing more research on her velocity challenging equipment, I decided it would be more logical to have her lose her legs and need them replaced with augmented limbs that function the same as her equipment. Aside from this major backstory point, I also took away the memory and cognitive failure and replaced it with much more severe Post Traumatic Stress and Anxiety. What can I say, I like it when my characters suffer.
> 
> But yeah that's about it. Her equipment remains the same, with the exception of her now having cybernetic legs, she's still deaf without her hearing augments, and she still comes from an upper-class background that's broken her relationship with her parents. 
> 
> As previously stated, please leave a comment with a message or review or whatever you'd like, and drop a Kudos or Bookmark if you're interested in reading more- it gives me the inspiration to keep writing and posting chapters. Thank you all for your support with the original story, and I hope you all like this rewrite just as much, if not more!


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